Amherst, N.Y. – The Molloy women's basketball team battled the Daemen University Wildcats to the final buzzer Friday evening, but ended up falling, 69-64, inside Lumsden Gymnasium. The Lions move to 12-12 overall and 5-6 in East Coast Conference play, while the Wildcats improve to 17-6 overall and 13-0 in league play.
 
How it Happened

• The home team came out firing, opening the game on a 10-0 rally and holding Molloy without a field goal on seven shots.
• Senior Janel Moore snapped the run with a layup to get the road team on the scoreboard.
• The Lions would outscore the Wildcats 12-11 for the remainder of the quarter, but trailed 21-12 after 10 minutes of play.
• The home team scored the first five points of the second quarter to increase its lead to 14, 26-12.
• Molloy found its rhythm and answered with an 11-3 rally, holding Daemen to one field goal while shooting 55 percent from the floor, to come within six, 29-23, with under four minutes to go in the first half.
• The Wildcats reclaimed the double-digit lead, 34-23, following a three-point basket from Ne'vaeh Buntley with 1:44 to go in the second quarter.
• Molloy finished the half on a 7-0 rally that was capped by Moore, who converted a three-point play to get the Lions within four, 34-30, heading into halftime.
• Coming out of the locker room, junior Casey Campo netted five of Molloy's first six points to shrink the deficit to one, 37-36, midway through the third quarter.
• After the Wildcats sunk a three-point shot to go ahead by four, junior Colleen McCullagh sank consecutive baskets to bring the contest back to all square, 40-40, with 2:31 remaining in the third stanza.
• The squads traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, but a three-point basket from Daemen guard Danielle DiCintio gave the home team a two-point lead, 46-44, going into the fourth.
• After the Wildcats sunk the first basket of the final stanza, senior Samantha Muller and Moore made field goals to knot the contest at 48 with 6:30 to play.
• Daemen regained its three-possession, 55-48, lead following a 7-0 run over the next 2:20 of action.
• The cardinal and white fired right back, answering with an 8-2 run that was sparked by Moore, who nailed two three-point field goals to bring the Lions within one, 57-56, with 2:33 remaining on the scoreboard.
• The home team took the Lions' best shot and countered with a 8-0 run of its own over the next 1:35 of action to pull ahead by nine, 65-56, with 58 seconds on the clock.
• Moore and junior Sophia Yearwood would nail back-to-back three-point shots to help the Lions come within three, 67-64, with four seconds to go, but Daemen would sink two foul shots to seal the victory, 69-64.

Top Performances

• Moore netted a career-high 20 points while totaling three rebounds and one steal.
• Muller collected 11 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
• Junior Rosa Rizzitelli tallied a season-high 13 rebounds while netting four points and dished out a team-high four assists.
• McCullagh added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Up Next
Molloy will conclude its Western New York swing Sunday, February 16 as they'll travel down the road to take on D'Youville in Buffalo, N.Y. at 1:00 p.m.